Many attempts have been made to increase the fuel efficiency of vehicles with varying degrees of success. Most recent advances in improved deficiency have resulted from sophisticated redesign of internal combustion engines and the manner in which they are operated.
Conventionally, a combustible mixture of fuel and air requires an optimum mixture ratio measured by weight of 14.7 to 1, as calculated by the stoichiometric scale. This ratio is arrived at primarily as a balance of power and efficiency whilst operating with a given torque curve, to produce the best possible emissions under conventional operating conditions. Fuel in itself is a cool element because of its properties, and also carries out a cooling function in the combustion chamber of an engine to maintain the integrity of the contacting surfaces, such as valves and pistons. Any reduction in fuel for combustion will cause an increase in combustion chamber and exhaust gas temperatures, to the point where parts will melt or cease due to expansion and a reduction in clearances and tolerances in the engine, and hence the engine fails.
Attempts have been made to improve fuel efficiency by providing some sort of heating mechanism between an injector and the cylinders of the engine. These systems operate on the principle that fuel in liquid form will be ejected by the injector and after injection, the fuel will be vaporised before delivery to the cylinders of the engine.